Cerca:shades of black

Repress

Monnom Black introduces Dax J's 1st solo full length Techno album Shades of Black. Drawing inspiration from Acid, Jungle, Drum n Bass & UK Rave, combining a diverse fusion of tempos, moods and breakbeats. Essential and Highly Recommended!

Shades Of... ist das erste Studioalbum der finnischen Funeral-Doom-Metal-Band Shape of Despair, das im Jahr 2000 erschien - Jetzt endlich in einer Vinylneuauflage!
Für Fans von FUNERAL, MOURNFUL CONGREGATION, MY DYING BRIDE, AHAB, EVOKEN

Black Truffle is thrilled to announce Dalbergia Retusa, an extensive double LP selection of the solo guitar music of Hans Reichel, compiled by Oren Ambarchi. Last heard on Black Truffle as one quarter of the joyously anarchic Bergisch-Brandenburgisches Quartett, Hans Reichel (1949-2011) is one of the great figures of experimental guitar music. Though perhaps lesser known than peers like Derek Bailey, Fred Frith and Keith Rowe, Reichel’s rethinking of the instrument was in some ways the most radical of all. Early on, he dispensed with existing guitars to build a series of his own that explored the use of additional strings and fretboards, moveable pickups, extra bridges, special capos, and other innovations documented in the extensive booklet accompanying this release.

Reichel was a long-term resident of Wuppertal, the small Western Germany city that became an unlikely centre of European free jazz in the late 1960s, also home to Peter Brötzmann and Peter Kowald. His solo debut Wichlinghauser Blues was an early entry into the FMP discography and began a relationship with the label that stretched into the 1990s; all the solo performances heard here were first released on FMP. As Reichel says in the charming archival interview with Markus Müller included here, he was ‘always a cuckoo’s egg at FMP’, a label that began as an outlet for roaring European free jazz. What strikes the listener right from the opening selection on Dalbergia Retusa—‘Return of the Knödler show’, from 1987’s The Dawn of Dachsman—is the extraordinary beauty of Reichel’s music, at once alien in the shimmering sonorities and unconventional pitch relationships made possible by his invented instruments, and deeply lyrical, even romantic in its harmonic content. Growing up in West Germany in the 1960s, Reichel’s formative influences were mainly British and American rock bands, a background that shines through in many of the pieces included here: ‘An old friend passes by’ is haunted by the ghost of Hendrix’s rhythm guitar, and the wild closer ‘Heimkehr der Holzböcke’, taken from a rare 1975 7” and the only piece to use overdubbing, layers errant hammer-on and slide tones over a Canned Heat boogie chug.

Reichel was an important source for the development of Oren Ambarchi’s own extended approach to the electric guitar. Appropriately enough, his selection opens with the very first piece by Reichel he ever heard, on a flexidisc included with a 1989 issue of Guitar Player magazine. Though Reichel collaborated with others extensively in many settings and also performed on violin and his other major contribution to instrument invention, the daxophone, his music for solo guitar remains at the core of his oeuvre. Focusing exclusively on solo pieces recorded between 1973 and 1988, the 23 pieces on Dalbergia Retusa showcase the range and consistency of Reichel’s work, allowing the listener to see how his performances developed hand-in-hand with his instrumental inventions. On a piece from his very first LP, played on an 11-string instrument (partly strung with piano strings and using a schnapps glass a slide), we hear his intensive exploration of fret-hammering to create zither-like, chiming tone, which Reichel would hone further in later years with a double fretboard guitar specifically designed to be hammered rather than fretted and picked. On a piece from 1979’s Death of the Rare Bird Ymir, Reichel uses two steel-string acoustic guitars at once, with beautiful results: ‘some even say too beautiful’, he jokes in the interview included here. Many of the pieces from the 1980s make use of varieties of the ‘pick behind the bridge guitar’, instruments of uncanny harmonic richness primarily designed to be played on the ‘wrong’ side of the bridge. At times the unexpected behaviour of attacks, resonance, and decay can almost seem electronic, conjuring up the technology-assisted work of Henry Kaiser or even Fennesz, but realised solely through Reichel’s unorthodox techniques on his invented instruments. Extensively illustrated with photos and Reichel’s own plans and drawings of his instruments, Dalbergia Retusa is an essential introduction to the unique world of Hans Reichel. Rarely has music been at once so strange and so beautiful.

Visionary producer Ilija Rudman confidently lands into the Black Jukebox catalogue with a truly mesmeric 2-tracker.

Based in Zagreb, Ilija has carved a legacy over more than two decades in the game throughout which he's released over 100 vinyl EPs and 8 studio albums, collaborating with the likes of Robert Owens, Greg Wilson, Faze Action and Ron Trent.

'Euphonia' opens up with a suave slice that melds deep Detroit shades with the flexible Electro funk of Morgan Geist and Clatterbox. A sawtooth bass climbs steps in the low end while gorgeous synths bend and glide at the groove's core. Crisp, delicate drums kick, snap and shuffle as they guide a low-slung, retro-futuristic trip to the moon.

'Late Checkout' draws for a similar sound palette as rich analogue pads form a magic carpet for Prelude-era synth phrases and another sneaking bass line. The tone is elegant and nothing feels forced as Ilija Rudman traverses the vast sonic territory between Salsoul-era Disco and modern Electro-funk in the most fluent and stylish manner.

It’s been over 20 years since Kenny Dixon Jr., better known as Moodymann, released Black Mahogani—an album rich in atmosphere and emotion, offering a quintessential journey through deep house, soul, and jazz. Timeless yet modern, it’s an immersive and emotionally resonant experience that reflects the singular character of Detroit’s deep musical heritage.

Originally released in 2004, Black Mahogani is arguably one of Moodymann’s most revered and sought-after works. It completes the puzzle laid out by his rare and elusive KDJ 12” releases from the mid to late '90s. With the help of Detroit legends like the late Amp Fiddler, Roberta Sweed, and Norma Jean Bell, Dixon infused his analog soundscapes and samples with a new organic warmth—expanding the deep house genre while simultaneously paying homage to 1970s soul and cinematic soundtracks.

Dixon’s masterful control of tension—knowing exactly when to hold back and when to let go—makes Black Mahogani an enduring masterpiece. It's not just a landmark in electronic music, but a definitive statement in 21st-century Black American music.

Limited 2025 Repress
Black Truffle is pleased to announce the release of Ichida, the first release from the duo of two important yet often underappreciated musicians, Eiko Ishibashi and Darin Gray. Ishibashi is a singer-songwriter, keyboardist, drummer, and multi-instrumentalist, known in Japan both for her own elaborately conceptual solo albums and for her frequent collaborations with figures such as Jim O'Rourke, Merzbow, and Phew. Darin Gray is a bassist and multi-instrumentalist known for a multitude of collaborations (with O'Rourke and Loren Connors, among many others), for On Fillmore, his cinematic post-exotica project with Glenn Kotche, and as one half of Chikamorachi with Chris Corsano, one of the finest free-jazz rhythm sections around. Presenting the entirely of a live set performed at Tokyo's Super Deluxe in March 2013, the set begins as a duet for Ishibashi's flute and Gray's upright bass. Calmly melodic yet harmonically inventive, with shades of 'spiritual jazz', the pair's acoustic ruminations are gradually joined by Ishibashi's lush electronics, which randomly flicker between chords in a manner recalling the classic work of David Behrman. As the electronics build into a gloomy fog of slowly cycling loops, Gray lays his bass aside and turns to making strangely mournful interjections on a mouthpiece. Eventually Ishibashi moves to the piano, enveloping the audience in rippling pools of sustained, octave-doubled melody, provided by Gray's bass with a fluid and dynamic foundation. For much of the second side, both Ishibashi and Gray turn to electronics, ultimately arriving in a bizarre space of melancholic arpeggios and random sputter and sizzle, oddly reminiscent of 70s outsider prog acts like Wapassou. An uneasy coda of rich piano chords ends the set. Captured in warm room ambience and beautifully mixed by Jim O'Rourke, Ichida is a rare combination of improvisational acumen and emotional directness, both adventurous and immediately accessible.

“The Blue Hour” is the second VA of Berlin-based THISBE Recordings, following “Black Ink” released in 2022. Curated by label owner Pyrame, The new compilation is an invitation to cruise through the blue hour, that unique time of the day from dusk to night.

During that special time lapse, as the sky goes through several shades of blue, so goes the record: Dominik Marz´s “Bura´s Hymn” brings us straight above the Earth´s surface with a track as atmospheric as it can get, before Radial Gaze & Balam´s collab tune “Foreclosed” sets the scene for a groovy dance above the clouds.

We have already lost sight of the ground when World Wild Web initiates an immersion into an enigmatic phase of the voyage with his track “Extase”, where we do not really know in which time-space we find ourselves any more. Agle hints at a possible spot: “Sahel”, a tune that feels like a breeze across the desert, before Philip Lawns shakes everyone up with the upbeat “Johns”, bringing our feet back just above the ground. Volta Cab wraps up our imaginary trip with “Krasnodar Nights”, bringing a treat for the soul and some peace of mind. The night can now settle down.

Celebrating thirty years of collaboration, Loren Connors and Alan Licht performed for two nights at OTO on May 5 and 6th, 2023. The shows celebrated a new release titled “At The Top of the Stairs”; a document of the pair's reunion in 2018 after a period of 8 years not playing together. It’s a dark, swirling two-sided spectral noir session, put out by the duo’s home label, Family Vineyard, and we expected a similar kind of atonal abyss to appear at the OTO residency. On the second night however, with the stage lit in blue, Connors took up a seat on the piano stool whilst Licht picked up the guitar. What followed was the duo’s first ever set with Connors on piano - one of only a few times Connors has played piano live at all - here captured and issued as The Blue Hour. Its spacious warmth came as a total surprise live, but makes complete sense for a duo whose dedicated expressionism takes inspiration from a vast spectrum of emotion. Both opening with single notes to start, it doesn't take long before a surface rises and begins to shimmer between the pair. A run up the keys, the drop of a feedback layer on a sustained and bent note. When the two begin to exchange notes in tandem, brief touches of melody and chord hover and the hush of the room is palpapale. After a while, Connors picks up the guitar, stands it in his lap and sweeps a wash of colour across Licht’s melody. Sharp, glassy edges begin to form, open strings and barred frets darkening the space. When his two pedals begin to merge, Licht finds a dramatic organ-like feedback and it’s hard not to imagine Rothko’s Chapel, its varying shades of blue black ascending and descending in the room. When Connors goes back to the piano for the second side, the pair quickly lock into a refrain and light pours in. It’s a kind of sound that Licht says reminds him of what he and Connors would do when the duo first started playing together 30 years ago. It’s certainly more melodic than some of their more recent shows, and the atonal shards of At The Top of the Stairs seem to totally dissolve. What is always remarkable about Licht is that his enormous frame of reference doesn't seem to weigh him down, and instead here he is able to delicately place fractures of a Jackson C Frank song (“Just Like Anything”,) amongst the vast sea of Connors’ blues. Perhaps it's the pleasure of playing two nights in a row together, or the nature of Connor’s piano playing combined with Licht’s careful listening, but the improvisation on The Blue Hour feels remarkably calm and unafraid. There’s nothing to prove and no agenda except the joy of sounding colour together. Totally beautiful.

It's difficult to ''label'' the songs of this authoritative and necessary official reissue (after the shameful fake of 10 years ago). ''Zombi'' and ''In the Land of the Zombi'' are two electro disco-funks from 1979, therefore from three years before was born the ''Italo-Disco'' style, certainly more powerful, aggressive and more electronic than the ''Made in Italy'' disco style of the 2nd half of the 70s (Fratelli La Bionda, Pino Presti, Claudio Simonetti, Celso Valli and others.). The creation of the original 7" by Salvatore Ida, great musician and bandleader - to whom this excellent reissue is dedicated - was a sort of game for the authors of the two pieces: Federico Ida and Massimo Ida, were protagonists 4 years before of the Italian progressive rock scene with the sister Silvana Ida, Marcello Surace and Franco Vinci thanks to the immeasurable and acclaimed album ''Apoteosi''. So The Zombies were destined to pair with another easy '79 joke by the Ida brothers: ''Let's Go'' and ''Mustang'' by Sandwich, also reissued on 12inch by Best Record Italy. The Zombies comes out with the original artwork of the time, but in a full embossed picture sleeve and released in the classic black vinyl and on red vinyl with black shades (limited edition with red copies numbered manually (1/250: 2/250 and so on...) What else to add except that: the two long versions of ''Zombi'' and ''In the Land of the Zombi'' were re-edited by Massimo Berardi, always diligent and active, as well as tidy and aware of where he was putting his hands, are fundamental in order to complete this 12" fully remastered by Dom Scuteri.

In 1969, Albina in the US underwent a pivotal transformation which saw the arrival of Black residents displaced by the Vanport floods. While a local Black economy thrived to start with, the neighbourhood eventually got neglected due to disinvestment by the city's elites but citizens didn't take it lying down and some of them formed Shades Of Brown, a group that emerged at the Albina Arts Center which was a haven for artists during civil unrest. With members from various musical acts, they found unity under leader Thara Memory who instilled discipline and required them to read and write music before performing. This EP, which is the group's sole record, embodies their camaraderie and the community's struggle against neglect across six raw-as-you-like funk cuts laden with emotion and narrative.

Reissue of eternal Detroit-House /
Sushitech Records classic on black vinyl.

2022 Repress

Dax J delivers The Invisible Man EP for Monnom black 009. Dark, acidic, 90's inspired rave cuts. Dax's 1st release after his critically acclaimed debut album "Shades of Black". Essential Selection!

Sixteen killer 70s reggae funk and soul cuts from the likes of John Holt, Lee Perry, Cornel Campbell, The Cimarons, The Chosen Few and more featuring superb reggae takes on songs by artists including The Jackson 5, William DeVaughn, Diana Ross and The Supremes, War, The Temptations, Roberta Flack, The Stylistics and others!

Well-documented is the influence of American black music on Jamaican styles of the 1960s – from the birth of ska music, when The Skatalites ska-ified the jump-up southern USA rhythm and blues music of Rosco Gordon, Louis Jordan and Fats Domino, through to the creation of rocksteady when Jamaican artists like The Techniques, The Paragons, Alton Ellis and The Melodians turned to the slower rhythms and soulful harmonies of groups such as The Impressions and The Drifters for inspiration. 

Less-well established is that in the 1970s Jamaicans didn’t (shock!) stop listening to American black music styles, with many 70s reggae artists as invested in soul, funk and the proto-disco sounds of Philadelphia, as was the case with rhythm and blues in the previous decade. In the 1970s, while Jamaica promoted its own roots reggae styles around the world, powerhouse USA soul labels such as Motown, Philadelphia International and Stax Records were at the same time all popular on the island.
This interaction between American and Jamaican music was not limited to Jamaica. In Britain, first-generation Caribbean-émigré children in the 1960s and early 70s grew up with an equal love of both soul and reggae, which manifested itself in the home-grown arrival of lovers rock in the mid-1970s.
Soul Jazz Records’ new ‘Reggae Island Soul’ tells this story of how soul and funk-infused reggae in the 1970s united the sounds of Jamaica, USA and the UK into a highly addictive cultural hybrid of styles.

VINDICATE, Black Veil Bride’s seventh album, casts a brilliant symbolic signal across the darkened skies. It’s a living will and testament to the band’s storied past, triumphant present, and unwritten future. VINDICATE harnesses the blend of grandeur and intimacy at the heart of the band’s melodic and metallic sound. Across timeless songs, VINDICATE conjures enduring archetypes, interwoven with themes of revolt and vengeance, and shades of John Milton’s epic 1677 poem Paradise Lost.

Guitarists Jake Pitts and Jinxx, drummer Christian Coma, bassist Lonny Eagleton, and frontman/vocalist Andy Biersack celebrated several milestones in recent years, including massive shows in London and Mexico City. “Bleeders” was a Top 10 hit at Active Rock radio and a several-month-long mainstay on YouTube’s Hard Rock & Metal chart (which tracks both current and catalog music videos) in 2024 and 2025.

VINDICATE is the first new Black Veil Brides full-length produced by Pitts and Biersack, exercising complete creative control while synthesizing the best of what they’ve learned from A-list producers. The album was mixed by Zakk Cervini (Bring Me The Horizon,
Evanescence, Bad Omens).

VINDICATE ushers in Black Veil Brides' most visceral, creative, thrilling, and uncompromising era yet, as the band continues to defy expectations and misconceptions held by casual onlookers. Black Veil Brides forever champions the isolated and the dismissed.
They’re an object of devotion and obsession for those who sing their anthems in unison, a diverse BVB Army that never surrenders.

VINDICATE, Black Veil Bride’s seventh album, casts a brilliant symbolic signal across the darkened skies. It’s a living will and testament to the band’s storied past, triumphant present, and unwritten future. VINDICATE harnesses the blend of grandeur and intimacy at the heart of the band’s melodic and metallic sound.
Across timeless songs, VINDICATE conjures enduring archetypes, interwoven with themes of revolt and vengeance, and shades of John Milton’s epic 1677 poem Paradise Lost.

Guitarists Jake Pitts and Jinxx, drummer Christian Coma, bassist Lonny Eagleton, and frontman/vocalist Andy Biersack celebrated several milestones in recent years, including massive shows in London and Mexico City. “Bleeders” was a Top 10 hit at Active Rock radio and a several-month-long mainstay on YouTube’s Hard Rock & Metal chart (which tracks both current and catalog music videos) in 2024 and 2025.

VINDICATE is the first new Black Veil Brides full-length produced by Pitts and Biersack, exercising complete creative control while synthesizing the best of what they’ve learned from A-list producers. The album was mixed by Zakk Cervini (Bring Me The Horizon, Evanescence, Bad Omens).

VINDICATE ushers in Black Veil Brides' most visceral, creative, thrilling, and uncompromising era yet, as the band continues to defy expectations and misconceptions held by casual onlookers. Black Veil Brides forever champions the isolated and the dismissed.

They’re an object of devotion and obsession for those who sing their anthems in unison, a diverse BVB Army that never surrenders.

Like its cover, Nicolas Remondino's Hìeratico plays in the rich shades of crepuscular spaces. A night-tuned, percussion led album where prepared drums are accompanied by flickers of spoken word, acoustic instruments and muted electronics,

The title translates to 'hieratic', for Remondino a "black and gold" term laden with dualities and complex connotations. A sense of teetering between sparkling light and richly coloured darkness imbues the music, the compositions simulating a sense of heightened acuity as they convey us through a spooky elemental soundworld. The opening title track begins with a metallic shimmer, a drum skin activated in a way that sounds like it's being smelted. A cushioned rhythm enters, a smothered timbre akin to hearing something lurking around the garden. On "litho non-danse", percussion cracks like branches and dried foliage under foot.

Remondino recorded initial outlines for the pieces at Giuseppe Ielasi's studio in Milan, before fleshing out these ideas with his own additional instrumentation and contributions from a globe-spanning network of collaborators. On "blue hymne", chiming percussion equal parts jubilant and sinister heralds spoken word from Limpe Fuchs. "Tombal" opens with Massimo Silverio whispering in the Carnic dialect, a minority language from the Carnic Alps. Around, Marco Baldini, Pierre Bastien and Remondino construct a somber soundscape that cranks and sighs in the crevices.

Hìeratico is an album of hybrids. Diverse voices, accents and dialects deliver its lyrics, the instrumentation underpinning it crosses idioms. The drumkit at its core is modified to amplify its resonant tones and harmonics. Inspired by natural substances and phenomena: stone, wood, wind, earth, metal, grass, rain, clouds and bark, Remondino explores how percussion could evoke their materiality, treating drums as lucid textural instruments as much as rhythmic timekeepers. It gives the album a finely shaded depth and clarity as it conjures the vibrancies that reside in darkened corners. Hìeratico dwells in a sensation that crosses borders, the speckles of light in the oblique night sky. Listening is an aural equivalent to stepping into a pitch black forest and waiting for your eyes to adjust, a lightless void turning into a spectacular tableau of shadows and glows. Daryl Worthington

Blue Transparent Vinyl

Two Shades of Blue zeigt Robben Ford auf dem Höhepunkt seiner künstlerischen Reife – reichhaltig, gefühlvoll und emotional aufgeladen. Das Album verbindet seinen unverwechselbaren Gitarrensound mit frischen Kompositionen und wunderschön gestalteten Arrangements und bietet alles, was Fans an Ford lieben, während es seinen Sound gleichzeitig in neue Gefilde vorantreibt. Two Shades of Blue ist ein Muss für Blues-, Jazz- und Gitarrenliebhaber und wird sicherlich zu einem der prägenden Alben seiner legendären Karriere werden.

In many ways, OLDE OUTLIER rise from the legacy of Australia’s late Innsmouth — a cult band whose 2014 debut Consumed by Elder Sign endures as an underground classic. The connection is more than symbolic: guitarist Askew, vocalist Appleton, and bassist Greenbank all passed through Innsmouth’s ranks, while Beau Dyer now leads this new incarnation after years spent shaping the sound of Innsmouth and the earlier project Grenade.

From Shallow Lives to Shallow Graves marks OLDE OUTLIER’s recorded debut, a four-track, thirty-five-minute descent into their own cavernous realm. While faint echoes of Innsmouth’s inspirations — Armoured Angel and early Samael — linger, the band draw from a broader and far more obscure constellation. Shades of Amon Goeth, Martyrium, Head of the Demon, and Florida’s Equinox collide with the spectral drift of Ophthalamia and early Katatonia and Tiamat, all eroded and blackened into something untraceable.

Despite these depths, OLDE OUTLIER avoid any sense of technical indulgence. Their sound carries a rough, deliberate simplicity — a raw and smoky power that pushes each of the four long tracks forward with unhurried certainty. The songwriting unfolds through patient repetition and subtle shifts, allowing motifs to seep into place and gradually hypnotise. Appleton’s low gutturals bring a grim, expressive edge reminiscent of early Septic Flesh or Thou Art Lord, while the more open, lead-driven riffing imparts a distinctly archaic heavy metal aura that separates this band from their origins.

At many moments, that union of grit and atmosphere surpasses even Innsmouth’s achievements. Accented by well-placed clean and chorused guitar lines, From Shallow Lives to Shallow Graves becomes an immersive and strangely timeless work — a glimpse into an ancient, dimly lit world where OLDE OUTLIER feel less like a new formation and more like something unearthed from a forgotten past.

With Late Bloomer, Belgian-Cameroonian rapper, composer and multi-instrumentalist Kunde delivers a work that is both deeply personal and socially charged. The album forms a diptych with his previous release, Dandelion(2024). In Late Bloomer, Kunde pays tribute to his mother, who largely raised him and his sister on her own, using pivotal personal moments as a mirror through which he reveals the world from his perspective.

Composed and arranged entirely by Kunde and brought to life by his live band, Late Bloomer unfolds as a rich, layered universe where jazz, R&B, hip-hop, samba and touches of psychedelic rock intersect. Whereas his first album emerged mostly from the home studio, the new work is driven by live energy, collective interplay and a broader sonic scope. The album is further enriched by guest contributions from Helena Casella, Fred Gata, Okon and Tennishu (US), frontman of the Anderson .Paak-supported jazz-fusion band Butcher Brown.

Late Bloomer cements Kunde's reputation as a storyteller, composer and musical director. The album is both intimate and expansive, rooted in personal history while offering incisive reflections on the human condition. Like his inspirations, ranging from Coltrane and J Dilla to D'Angelo, Don Blackman and Arthur Verocai Kunde crafts a distinctive sound that is at once deeply personal and universally resonant.

For two decades, Hudd Traxx has stood as a pillar of underground house music – a label defined by longevity, taste, and its ability to bridge the old school with the new. To mark its twentieth anniversary, the revered UK imprint presents ‘20 Traxx From The Hudd’, a specially curated, all-new twenty-track compilation handpicked by label founder Eddie Leader.

The compilation brings together a global, star-studded lineup of artists who embody the Hudd Traxx ethos: soulful, inventive, and uncompromisingly underground. Contributions come from Groove Armada, Seven Davis Jr., Chez Damier, Cinthie, Jovonn, Oliver Dollar and others, offering a snapshot of the label’s wide-ranging influence. From the silky deep house depths of Black Loops’ opener ‘Soul to Soul Communication’, to the unmistakable analog warmth across Cinthie’s ‘Hudd House’, to the raw, stripped-back energy of Seven Davis Jr.’s ‘Infrasound’, the collection captures the many deeper shades of house Hudd Traxx has championed for twenty years.

Founded in 2005, Hudd Traxx has served as a trusted home for pioneering artists such as Nightmares On Wax and Matthew Herbert, guided by Eddie Leader’s consistent curatorial vision and unwavering commitment to craft. As a producer, his releases on Classic, Robsoul, and Balance Alliance have been supported by Laurent Garnier, Josh Wink, Disclosure, and many more. ‘20 Traxx From The Hudd’ isn’t just a celebration of the past; it’s a fervent reminder that Hudd Traxx remains as relevant and vital as ever.

Berlin-based Swiss vocalist Lucia Cadotsch returns with her celebrated Speak Low trio for their second album, released by We Jazz Records on 27 Nov. "Speak Low II" features Cadotsch on voice, Otis Sandsjö on tenor saxophone and Petter Eldh on double bass, and introduces guest artists Kit Downes on hammond organ and Lucy Railton on cello. "Speak Low II" picks up where their genre-bending and forward-looking debut album left off, introducing new shades into the band's sound and also diving even deeper into the songs they tackle. What makes Speak Low special is their approach to really get to the heart of each composition with seemingly minimal means, yet generating a sound which is both instantly recognisable and remarkably impactful.

"Speak Low II" comes almost five years after the band's lauded debut, and proves the depth of the band's approach right from the start. At the core of the trio's operation is an openness to their love of the music and to their surrounding scene(s). The album comes across as a unified collection of songs made truly theirs and found through listening to records and spending time with their musician friends, often on the road. The highly evolved band sound and the equality of the musicians shines through on the Speak Low sound, as the group uses their 100+ performances together as a vehicle for the development of their music.

"The first album was filled with pretty famous songs, but that was actually not at all intentional" explains Cadotsch. "Those were just my favourite songs of the previous 10 years and we started working on making them ours, musically. We were playing around with concepts for the second album, but soon realised that we just needed to find the right songs and adapt them organically, which comes through in how we interact with the songs and each other. This time around, we wanted to dig deeper and made finished arrangements of around 20 tracks, half of which we ditched in the process. The ones that made the cut have been through a lot and they just felt right for us."

In a way, the Speak Low approach could be described as archaeological. Three music lovers connecting with songs found at various sources, readily throwing away any ideas that don't seem natural to them, and hanging on tight to the ones that do.

Turns out there is a concept to "Speak Low II". It's the band itself, their shared musical development and their love of music.

"Speak Low II" will be available on We Jazz Records on vinyl (PURPLE and BLACK editions), CD and digitally. The vinyl versions come with a heavy duty tip-on sleeve and a printed inner sleeve. CD in digisleeve with no breaking plastic parts.

Reissue of the 3rd full length by Thomas Bücker aka Bersarin Quartett.

Melancholia. Longing. It is difficult to speak about these moods or states of the mind without invoking stereotypes. In ancient medicine, melancholia was considered to be one of the four temperaments, matching the four humours. In fact, melancholia, meaning "black bile" in Ancient Greek, was thought to be caused by an excess of this very body substance. By contrast, in more modern interpretations, literates and Freudians relate many variations of longing to the one primordial longing, the desire to return to one's mother's womb. In this context, the womb is considered to be the place of absolute comfort and cosiness, of total bliss. Thus it should not be surprising that to many of us melancholia is a mood which we like to invoke and to maintain, we like to envelop ourselves in it like in a warm blanket. Our brain and our sensory systems appear to be made for perceiving and emotionally responding to music in a very immediate fashion. Consequently music is the obvious drug for all of us melancholia-addicts. However, there is a thin line between melancholia and sadness, and music which is meant to be melancholic too often crosses this line by far. Only very few artists succeed in avoiding this crossing, and in creating music which is melancholia in its most pure form. It is safe to say that BERSARIN QUARTETT - the electronic music project of Thomas Bücker - is one of them.

After his debut in 2008 and the sophomore "II" in 2012 - album of the month in many magazines and in numerous "Best of the year" lists - Bücker in 2015 returned with his third BERSARIN QUARTETT album "III". Much like his two predecessors, III is a pure paradox. It is the creation of a perfectionist, an adamant control freak. Every element, be it a note, an ambience layer, a string arrangement, a field recording, a baseline, a vocal (Clara Hill on Track 11) or a beat, is meticulously modified and then assigned its place in Bücker's vast but still minimalistic arrangements. Thus, superficially Bücker's pieces seem to radiate a certain mechanical bleakness. However, there is a unique reduced warmth and liveliness emerging from these stainless compositions and transcending them. This transcendence is precisely the point where Bücker ironically looses control over his creations. In contrast to the first two BERSARIN QUARTETT albums, III offers a few darker shades and succeeds even further in narrowing down the arrangements to the absolute essentials without loosing the characteristic grandeur of Bücker's sound. Whereas BERSARIN QUARTETT's debut was merely a description of melancholia in its most pure form, III maybe even goes as far a defining what melancholia really is. It is the only emotion in the vast spectrum of human states of mind which one can bear forever.

Wiederveröffentlichung des Debutalbums 'Shadows Of The Dying Light' der schwedischen Cineastic Melodic Hard Rock Band Sarayasign. Mit Wurzeln im Gitarren Rock der späten 70er Jahren und dem Kinoerlebnis des 21. Jahrhunderts. Klingt wie Queensrÿche, Dio, Avantasia oder Allen/Lande. Jetzt erhältlich als Ltd. Col. 2LP!

The Brazilian DJ/music-producer based in Vienna/Austria makes his debut on footnotes and the EP represents the best of Alibi and footnotes. The techy roller Dismissed has been destroying dancefloors for more than a year. ‘Black Piano’ and ‘Invisible’ both combined the brooding piano and skippy beats. The EP closer ‘Draw’ contains shades of the Autonomic era with beautiful synth lines but the crisp beats that Alibi is renowned for. All in all a stunning debut for Alibi on footnotes

Following a successful, vital surgery, Ozzy has left little time to unveil details of his upcoming thirteenth studio album, and follow up to 2020's triumphant, 'Ordinary Man'. Later this year, we'll be introduced to the world of, 'Patient Number 9', which boasts a ludicrously impressive array of guest features from the likes of Zakk Wylde, Jeff Beck, Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Duff McKagan (Guns N' Roses), Eric Clapton and the late, great Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. Black Sabbath guitarist extraordinaire, Tony Iommi, shall also make his Ozzy solo album debut, which essentially everyone can agree, has been a long time coming. Utilizing his own approach to morality and legacy, the great grandfather of all things metal and malevolent appears eager to whisk us around his hallowed ground yet again.

Following a successful, vital surgery, Ozzy has left little time to unveil details of his upcoming thirteenth studio album, and follow up to 2020's triumphant, 'Ordinary Man'. Later this year, we'll be introduced to the world of, 'Patient Number 9', which boasts a ludicrously impressive array of guest features from the likes of Zakk Wylde, Jeff Beck, Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Duff McKagan (Guns N' Roses), Eric Clapton and the late, great Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. Black Sabbath guitarist extraordinaire, Tony Iommi, shall also make his Ozzy solo album debut, which essentially everyone can agree, has been a long time coming. Utilizing his own approach to morality and legacy, the great grandfather of all things metal and malevolent appears eager to whisk us around his hallowed ground yet again.

Strut present the first international release in over 30 years by legendary Afro-jazz group Oneness Of Juju with their new album Made Through Ritual on 11th July 2025.

In 1975, the late DJ / producer and jazz distributor Jimmy Gray and James “Plunky” Branch joined a musical revolution, founding Black Fire Records and releasing the label’s debut album, the classic African Rhythms by Oneness of Juju. This July, Plunky brings this important musical relationship full circle with Made Through Ritual, produced by Plunky’s son Jamiah “Fire” Branch and Jimmy’s son Jamal Gray.

The album takes a novel approach to beat culture. Working from demos created by Jamal using a selection of original jazz samples, Plunky took the tracks, replayed and re-interpreted the arrangements using live musicians. “The album explores the art of deconstruction and reconstruction in music - sampling, sequencing, and live improvisation merge with multi-track recording to craft intricate harmonies and arrangements,” explains Plunky. “The process became a ritualistic expression of creativity and transformation.”

The resulting album is a fascinating listen. Opening with the meditative soul chant ‘Share This Love’ voiced by regular Oneness vocalist Charlayne “Chyp” Green, the album opens out into a series of jazz vignettes including the title track, ‘In Due Time’ and ‘Free Spirit’. The powerful album closer, ‘Children Of The Drum’ celebrates black culture and legacy through the poetry of Roscoe Burnem.

Released on 1LP and 1CD with specially commissioned cover artwork by contemporary Ivorian artist Maxime Manga, Made Through Ritual represents an important new chapter in the Oneness story. The album will be supported by a selection of European tour dates during Autumn and Winter 2025.

Mayssa Jallad is a Beirut-based bilingual singer-songwriter, architectural researcher and teacher. Her work deals with the highly personal as well as the political, as with her first solo album "Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels", which explores the histories of urban battles that occurred before she was born, during the Lebanese Civil War, through a collaborative musical and architectural lens. "(Marjaa) is, as one might expect, a sombre affair largely comprised of Jallad's delicate vocals backed by acoustic guitar and ethereal synthesizer. Elsewhere, co-composer and producer Fadi Tabbal adds the crackle of distant artillery and a ghostly wind between the high-rise blocks." - Daniel Spicer, Songlines, April 2023 "Historical trauma, strings, drones, metallophones and buzuks wrap around powerful stories and gossamer vocals on Lebanese singer's tender, intimate debut. With shades of Nico, Jarboe and Elizabeth Fraser, '80s' 4AD fans will rejoice." - Andy Cowan, MOJO `Marjaa_' (tr. `reference') combined Mayssa Jallad's two main vocations: music and urban research/architectural history. The album was co-written with Fadi Tabbal and based on Mayssa's Historic Preservation master's thesis (`Beirut's Civil War Hotel District: Preserving the World's First High-Rise Urban Battlefield'). The thesis examined a 5-month conflict that took place within Beirut's skyscraper-laden luxury hotel district of Minet El Husn near the start of the Lebanese Civil War. Addressing a post-war generation who have never been taught this difficult history, `Marjaa_' was an attempt to process trauma, and "a call to protest for the renewal, rather than the recycling of the political class that once destroyed the country and holds us, to this day, hostage of its violence". In 2013, Mayssa founded indie-pop band Safar with guitarist Elie Abdelnour, releasing debut album In Transit with Lebanese indie label Ruptured in 2017, and follow-up EP Studies of an Unknown Lover in 2019. Both albums were produced by Lebanese producer Fadi Tabbal at Tunefork Studios in Beirut. Mayssa's most recent multi-genre collaborations include "Madina min Baeed" (2022) with electronic musician/producer Khaled Allaf; "Bi Kheir" and "Fil Aatma" (2022) with indie supergroup Baada Ab (Dani Shukri, Ezra Tenenbaum and Omaya Malaeb), released by Thawra records and Found Sound Nation. Next is the Versions version of Marjaa, which sees Civilistjävel! (aka Swedish producer Tomas Bodén) apply a stripped, dub methodology to Mayssa's original rich stems, refracting the Arabic source through the hazy prism of Northern European electronica. 140gsm vinyl, jacket printed on 20pt board with aqueous gloss coating, with a 3.5mm spine and a black paper inner dust sleeve.

Limited edition double “Black & White Swirl” vinyl housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with beautiful artwork throughout.
Following 2023’s JUNO award winning album ‘when we were that what wept from the sea’, ‘The love it took to leave you’ features 11 new pieces of emotionally scorching music.
The album was recorded over a week in 2023 at The Darling Foundry, a 144-year-old former metalworks facility in Montreal with a voluminous main room that still maintains its raw architecture of brick, concrete and steel. From the album’s opening track Stetson charts a carefully sequenced ride, travelling through intense territories punctuated with tragic melodies that seek transcendence, epic and frenzied shredders, and many shades of scary beauty, betrayal, and redemption.

Even the name is mysterious-Black Honey Cult evokes a sense of intrigue and the otherworldly, a fitting moniker for a band born out of deep roots in Los Angeles' storied underground music scene. The story begins in the early '90s, when Johnny DeVilla and Jake Cavaliere first crossed paths, performing in various bands at the legendary JabberJaw, a hub for raw talent and boundary-pushing sound. Fast forward to 2003, when Spencer Robinson joined forces with Jake and Johnny in The Lords of Altamont, solidifying a creative bond that has endured for decades. Over the years, this trio found themselves collaborating time and again, refining their chemistry and exploring new sonic landscapes. It wasn't until 2010 that Black Honey Cult began to take shape, though the journey to a definitive lineup was a winding road. After several incarnations, the band finally coalesced into its current form with the addition of Garey Snider on drums, and Travis Petersen on guitar, whose contributions completed the puzzle. Jake and Garey, longtime conspirators with a shared desire to work together, brought their vision to fruition, creating a group that feels both destined and uniquely fresh. Drawing inspiration from pioneers like The Velvet Underground and psychedelic icons, The 13th Floor Elevators, Black Honey Cult infuses their sound with shades of early goth, post-punk, and krautrock. The result? A hypnotic, genre-defying blend of dark, atmospheric psychedelia that transports listeners to another plane - like dropping LSD on Mars. The band's sound was brought to life by the legendary Paul Roessler (of Screamers and 45 Grave fame) at Kitten Robot Studios, a perfect match for their haunting and transportive vision. Black Honey Cult stands as a testament to years of collaboration, creativity, and perseverance, offering an immersive experience for those ready to step into their enigmatic world. Prepare to follow the cult and lose yourself in the spellbinding sounds of Black Honey Cult.

Gold nugget vinyl, limited to 350 copies. Even the name is mysterious-Black Honey Cult evokes a sense of intrigue and the otherworldly, a fitting moniker for a band born out of deep roots in Los Angeles' storied underground music scene. The story begins in the early '90s, when Johnny DeVilla and Jake Cavaliere first crossed paths, performing in various bands at the legendary JabberJaw, a hub for raw talent and boundary-pushing sound. Fast forward to 2003, when Spencer Robinson joined forces with Jake and Johnny in The Lords of Altamont, solidifying a creative bond that has endured for decades. Over the years, this trio found themselves collaborating time and again, refining their chemistry and exploring new sonic landscapes. It wasn't until 2010 that Black Honey Cult began to take shape, though the journey to a definitive lineup was a winding road. After several incarnations, the band finally coalesced into its current form with the addition of Garey Snider on drums, and Travis Petersen on guitar, whose contributions completed the puzzle. Jake and Garey, longtime conspirators with a shared desire to work together, brought their vision to fruition, creating a group that feels both destined and uniquely fresh. Drawing inspiration from pioneers like The Velvet Underground and psychedelic icons, The 13th Floor Elevators, Black Honey Cult infuses their sound with shades of early goth, post-punk, and krautrock. The result? A hypnotic, genre-defying blend of dark, atmospheric psychedelia that transports listeners to another plane - like dropping LSD on Mars. The band's sound was brought to life by the legendary Paul Roessler (of Screamers and 45 Grave fame) at Kitten Robot Studios, a perfect match for their haunting and transportive vision. Black Honey Cult stands as a testament to years of collaboration, creativity, and perseverance, offering an immersive experience for those ready to step into their enigmatic world. Prepare to follow the cult and lose yourself in the spellbinding sounds of Black Honey Cult.

Listen to This.” As the original working title for Bitches Brew, the instruction and invitation remains to this day as the best way to approach a record that shattered conventions, altered music history, and, 55 years later, still sounds far ahead of its time. The template for jazz fusion, Bitches Brew is rightly ranked by virtually every significant outlet among the 100 greatest albums ever made. Sewn together with vibrant colors, voodoo textures, and ethereal moods, the 1970 landmark emerges with supreme detail and nonpareil feeling on Mobile Fidelity’s UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM 2LP vinyl set.

Sourced from the original master tapes, strictly limited to 5,000 numbered copies, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, this definitive-sounding 55th anniversary reissue enhances every element of a double album that established new possibilities for studio recording techniques. You’ll hear wide and deep soundstages, separation between instruments, and an extremely broad dynamic range. If ever a jazz album can be said to have gone to outer space and back, this is it.

Sourced from the original master tapes, strictly limited to 5,000 numbered copies, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, this definitive-sounding 55th anniversary reissue enhances every element of a double album that established new possibilities for studio recording techniques. You’ll hear wide and deep soundstages, separation between instruments, and an extremely broad dynamic range. If ever a jazz album can be said to have gone to outer space and back, this is it.

Davis conceived Bitches Brew by having the musicians stand in a semi-circle. There, he pointed at them with vague directions for tempo, solos, and cues. The collective improvisation and interplay spawned a galaxy of melodies and grooves that were later spliced together by producer Ted Macero. Benefitting from the ultra-low noise floor and superb groove definition of this pressing, these distinct creations take shape with utmost realism. Compositions stretch across jet-black backgrounds and paint canvases laden with millions of colors and shades. Juxtaposed percussion, loose jams, and melodic segues explode with impressionistic verve.

Bitches Brew also boasts visionary artwork. By design, the lavish packaging and gorgeous presentation of the UD1S Bitches Brew set call attention to such matters. Housed in a deluxe slipcase, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. It is made for discerning listeners who desire to fully immerse themselves in everything surrounding the album, from the images to the tones. And this is one effort where every last detail matters.

Gathering a Hall of Fame-worthy lineup of musicians and tweaking it according to his desires, Davis follows through on his idea to “put together the greatest rock and roll band you ever heard.” Central to his proposition is the presence of two (and sometimes three) drummers and two bassists, a tactical move that makes rhythms a central focus. Akin to the futuristic album cover art, the drum-driven suites head toward distant universes and uncharted territories. At once hypnotizing and grooving, they chart maverick adventures via quixotic rock, funk, and R&B elements.

A without-a-net experiment involving interchangeable double-quintet lineups, Bitches Brew explores the previously unimaginable with electrified instruments — Fender Rhodes piano, processed trumpet, dissonant guitars, and bass among them — and an emphasis on feeling over composition. Mesmerizing and soothing, jarring and smooth, overt and subtle: The music seemingly covers an entire map of emotions and sensations, and like no record before, ties together the groundbreaking creativity of the multiple disciplines that were changing popular culture at the end of the 1960s and dawn of a new decade.

Conceptually, Davis described Bitches Brew as “a novel without words” and “an incredible journey of pain, joy, sorrow, hate, passion, and love.” The vast psychedelic expanses of warped echoes, liquid reverb, and tape loops confirm such ambitious contrasts of light and dark, fear and hope. Yet the most absolute characteristic of the watershed effort lies in how it resists definitive interpretation and encourages free thought — the very principles Davis used to conceive Bitches Brew.

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) technique bypasses generational losses inherent to the traditional three-step plating process by removing two steps: the production of father and mother plates, which are created to yield numerous stampers from each lacquer that is cut. For UD1S plating, stampers (also called “converts”) are made directly from the lacquers. Since each lacquer yields only one stamper, multiple lacquers need to be cut. Mobile Fidelity's UD1S process produces a final LP with the lowest-possible noise floor. The removal of two steps of the plating process also reveals musical details and dynamics that would otherwise be lost due to the standard multi-step process. With UD1S, every aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the best-sounding vinyl album available today.

High Roller Records, 180g black vinyl, ltd 250, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert, poster, A5 photo card, black vinyl bonus 7" in p/s

Auf "The Principle of Doubt" stellten Mekong Delta Uwe Baltrusch als neuen Gitarristen vor, der Reiner Kelch ersetzte, und ließen die 1980er mit einem Highlight ausklingen. Das 1989er Studioalbum der deutschen Tech-Thrash-Pioniere stand seinen beiden Vorgängern in nichts nach, zeichnete sich aber durch die bisher dynamischste Produktion der Band aus - gut so in Hinblick auf jene Orchesterparts, die man Band in Zukunft regelmäßig von der Band zu hören bekommen sollte.

High Roller Records, 180g black vinyl, ltd 250, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert, poster, A5 photo card, black vinyl bonus 7" in p/s

Auf "The Principle of Doubt" stellten Mekong Delta Uwe Baltrusch als neuen Gitarristen vor, der Reiner Kelch ersetzte, und ließen die 1980er mit einem Highlight ausklingen. Das 1989er Studioalbum der deutschen Tech-Thrash-Pioniere stand seinen beiden Vorgängern in nichts nach, zeichnete sich aber durch die bisher dynamischste Produktion der Band aus - gut so in Hinblick auf jene Orchesterparts, die man Band in Zukunft regelmäßig von der Band zu hören bekommen sollte.

Steven Wilson is no stranger to composing music that appears to counter everything else before it in his catalogue. Bass Communion, his long running solo electronic project, is no exception to this perverse streak that apparently likes to turn all expectations upside down. The Itself of Itself, Bass Communion's first album for 12 years, skilfully pays testament to this. Long established as a purveyor of mostly atmospheric or ambient textures, the seven cuts that represent The Itself of Itself take detours from this approach in order draw as much from musique concrete, noise music, abstract electronics and uneasy listening. Whilst still rippled with the same shades of light and dark that can be found throughout all of Bass Communion's work, The Itself of Itself reveals a fascination with analogue sounds and, more importantly perhaps, 'unwanted' analogue artefacts like tape hiss, wow and flutter, static noise, and sonic break-up, taking the music into a space at once different yet familiar. 'Apparition 3' presents a stark nod to Wilson's established command of shifting textures steeped in penumbral gauze, while 'Bruise' is akin to a space probe adrift and headed towards a white dwarf as all communication is reduced to a disturbing and indecipherable crackle. Between the other five cuts we witness fragmented, garbled and buried voices, vast vacillating banks of grainy hum, what sounds like the dying gasps of an oboe, spooky swirls from an indiscernible source, swathes of tape hiss, moody drones, and spiralling slivers of noise. Meanwhile on the title track, a mellotron flute rusts and collapses in on itself in a way that renders it the very antithesis of the one deployed on 'Strawberry Fields Forever'. Everything adds up to a dynamic listening experience where unease, dread and comparatively claustrophobic torrents of sound make (un)natural bedfellows to moments of enchantment and serenity. Above all, The Itself of Itself sees Steven Wilson cutting his teeth on an album that's at once cinematic and moody whilst proving him to be a master in electronic music craftsmanship. It's an album that might surprise some of those who have thus far been paying attention to his work as Bass Communion, but setting out to please everyone was never part of his raison d'etre. The Itself of Itself catches Bass Communion spreading its weatherbeaten wings to embrace new strategies and a strong desire to journey elsewhere. Arriving in a wonderful Carl Glover designed deluxe cover also comprising a 24pp. booklet of his photographs and an obi strip, this version of The Itself of Itself arrives in December on Lumberton Trading Company as a 2LP pressed in an initial run of 1000 copies.

Rafael Cohen’s Spanish-language solo project Las Palabras gives the D.C. punk scene veteran and member of dance-rock group !!! (Chk Chk Chk), the words to reveal himself as a Latin alternative artist and what he calls “a cautious believer”. Fe, Faith his second Las Palabras album, and first on the Barcelona label La Castanya, “deals with what it means to have faith, what it means to have doubts, and what it means to stay open to the idea that something untouchable and unknowable may exist”.
Written and produced by Cohen in his home studio in Brooklyn and mixed by Black Pumas guitarist Adrian Quesada, Fe builds on nylon-string guitar and electric bass with live drums and synthesizers in songs that embrace elements of 70s Brazilian funk and an amalgam of beats from hip hop to bachata, interspersed with contemplative ballads on which Cohen’s voice and guitar can be quiet enough to hear the rumble of a bus going by in the background.
“Fe” is colored by musical influences that include those Brazilian grooves, but also shades of Sade, Sounds of Blackness and eighties electro funk group Zapp. The arrangements spotlight the rhythm section, with drums played by Chris Egan (!!!, Solange, Blood Orange) and featuring Alberto Lopez (LCD Soundsystem, Stanley Clarke) on percussion. Cohen credits Adrian Quesada for the album’s warm, worn-in tone: “He made the beats sound a lot bigger and gave it an ’80s hip hop feel. He really understood the references and brought his background in Latin music to it”